Free Particle, a new collaboration between the Osophere Festival in Strasbourg, France, and Wits Digital Arts in Johannesburg featured a array of workshops, panel discussions, talks, together with an artists’ residency and an exhibition of digital art between 19th & 27th September 2012. The collaboration was intended to support and develop digital arts practice in South Africa and this first iteration of the event went some way to open up a range of exciting possibilities. The first artists’ residency was filled by Anne Roquiqy from France and Maia Grotepas, an MA graduate from Wits Digital Arts. Anne led a workshop on her web performance project WJ-S which was attended by a number of Joburg media artists. The group presented the results of their work in a live performance at the Wits Art Museum on Monday 19th. This is the first time that the venue had been used for this sort of performance and the event proved that the space and the vast glass walls have great potential for live digital events.

Wits Digital Arts Lecturer, Tegan Bristow, opening the Web-J performance at the Free Particle festival on 17 September 2012.

Wits Digital Arts MA student, Farrell West, at the controls of the Web-J system.

Don’t Look Down Producer and Vj, Muhammed Nagdee, at the Web-J controls.

Web-J screens from Maia Grotepas’s performance

Some of the audience at the Web-J performances, Wits Art Museum.